20 states and the District of Columbia have backed Planned Parenthood’s challenge to South Carolina’s abortion law. Planned Parenthood filed a legal challenge to the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act back in February when the bill was signed into law. The bill, much like the Texas abortion bill, bans almost all abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. It makes exemptions for medical emergencies and, unlike the Texas bill, in the case of rape or incest.
The Attorneys General of the 20 states and the District of Columbia argue that the ramifications of the South Carolina law, “are not confined to limits on particular procedures in a single state,” and that residents of South Carolina will cross state lines to receive abortions, placing a strain on those state’s healthcare systems. They continue to argue that the law harms healthcare on a national level.
The Attorneys General of the 20 states and the District of Columbia that backed Planned Parenthood were all won by President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. With a slew of abortion bills cropping up in Republican controlled states, it appears likely that the issue will be front and center in the 2022 election cycle.